Such pressure vessels are used for storing fluid or gaseous media, in other words pressurized fluids. Pressure vessels of this type are, for example, known from the following documents: DE 10 2006 001 052 A1; DE 10 2006 043 582 B3; and DE 10 2007 011 211 B3.
It has been proposed in such pressure vessels in the region of so-called polar caps, namely in the transition region between the face and the circumference of the plastic core container to provide impact-absorbing or fall-absorbing protective elements. In this manner, undesirable damage to the pressure vessel is to be avoided, in particular when said pressure vessel is knocked over or falls down. In this arrangement the protection device is to provide protection in particular in the case of an angle of impact of approximately 45° to the longitudinal axis of the pressure vessel. Protective caps comprising plastic material in the region of the polar caps are proposed as impact protection devices or strike protection devices (compare DE 197 51 411 C1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,189).
Furthermore, a pressure vessel is known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,845.